We support women writers living and working in the East of England * Winner of Outstanding Contribution to The Arts Award 2018; Shortlisted for the Women In Publishing New Venture Award 2015 & 2016, for Saboteur Best One-Off Event 2015 and Best Anthology 2014 *

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Sunday, 15 December 2013

We have just received a generous grant
from the Co-Operative Community Fund to help progress our work with young women
writers. This is great news as we have great plans! On our Young Women Writers' page you can read a little about the history of this initiative. Then early
next year we will reveal in detail the work we will be doing with young women
writers from The Hewett School in Norwich in their spring and summer terms. In
the meantime we would like to thank the Co-Op and Hayley Ross of The Hewett
School too for their support.

Wednesday, 11 December 2013

Red
Room is a book with a wild and windy moor locked inside. It is a wonderfully eclectic and
strongly evocative collection of new short stories inspired by the Brontes.
Moor-life, having lived on one, is solid and ephemeral, shape-shifting and
violent, enduring and majestic.
The moor and the hardships
and early deaths of those who lived at Haworth and lower down the hill
would have laid siege to the imaginations of the Bronte sisters.

This
moor passion is reflected in the anthology which contains a whole weather
system of emotions and moods.
Edited by A.J. Ashworth, the collection hosts some marvellous writing
from a pantheon of prize-winning writers.
Reading this slim book of 120 pages feels like real travel into a
landscape of resonance and echo.
It is exciting and compelling, packed with quiet grief, mischief,
delicacy and surprise. It can be quite a game to track the allusions to
Bronte-work although some of the stories such as Alison Moore’s satisfying and
subversive, Stonecrop, heft the
inspirational starting point under the title. Helpfully, the editor has
provided a section at the end of the book called Inspirations, where the
authors reveal the Bronte nugget that gave rise to their narratives.

Simon
Armitage’s brilliant elegy Emily
B, ‘Too much rain in the blood/too
much cloud in the lungs.’ acts as
the book’s opening marker. It is
followed by some great stories. Ashton
and Elaine by David Constantine is
beautifully written and movingly charts a near-mute child subject to adult
cruelties in a landscape of ‘hard, ungiving earth,’ but a landscape that
cradles a seam of tenderness. The
slow, developing relationship between the lost boy and Elaine is slowly
unfolded with compassion and love.

Carys
Davies, short and poignant Bonnet,
is a masterclass in loneliness, unrequited love and control. It recreates a
fictional meeting between Charlotte Bronte and her handsome publisher, George
Smith. Sarah Dobbs, Behind
Closed Doors is easily one of the most
powerful and memorable short stories I have read this year. The story of young Henry invisible
inside a house of childhood grief after the death of his mother. The darker
stories in the collection are offset with comic, playful and tricksy story-telling,
whether Bill Broady’s meeting
between Heathcliff and Sherlock Holmes or Zoe King’s Dear Miss, comprised of letters between Emma Woodhouse and Jane
Eyre.

Unthank Books have created a beautifully designed book which is also raising funds for
the Bronte Birthplace Trust. It is
a proud, wilful, wonderful read for those who love the Brontes and anyone who
appreciates great writing. Buy a copy for a loved one this Xmas!

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

2-5pm, Sunday 19th January 2014 at The Playroom, The Norwich Playhouse.

Isabelle King, a
member of Words And Women, is bringing her wonderful event Books Talk Back to
Norwich in January. If you’re a writer or reader of fiction for teenagers or
just plain interested in the writing process then this event will be for you.

Here Isabelle describes
what Books Talk Back is about and gives more details of BTB’s Norwich debut below:

I’m
very excited to be writing this piece about Books Talk Back. It’s great to have
Words And Women involved with the first Norwich event and to have this chance
to explain a bit about the event and why I would love you to come!

Books
Talk Back is a non-profit literary event where three or four unpublished
authors read an extract of their work to a published author and audience, after
which follows a time for the audience to ask questions and give feedback. The
authors can also use this time to ask any questions they have about their work.
This interactive aspect of Books Talk Back is, I believe, what makes the event
unique and, hopefully, very helpful for the writers involved. The first event
was in London last September and had a focus on first time novelists writing
for any genre. I was thrilled to have Naomi Wood as guest novelist; Naomi
answered some questions about her creative process in writing her debut novel
‘The Godless Boys’ and gave some wonderfully insightful and inspiring advice to
aspiring authors as well as some lovely anecdotes.

The
idea initially came to me after having plugged away on a novel for some time,
and whilst I’m still enjoying the process, I can also find it lonely,
frustrating and riddled with uncertainty. It’s also something I don’t generally
talk about to my friends much either because there’s rarely anything new to say
other than ’’yep, still writing that novel.’’

For me,
an opportunity to socialise with other aspiring authors and share experiences
is always welcome, so I wanted to create an event where this was possible but
which also offered some focused and useful help for the writers involved.

I first
announced the concept for Books Talk Back to a friend in a pub (all great ideas
are born in pubs, right?) and over a pint it seemed like a great idea. Having
proudly declared it to all my friends however, the reality began to sink in.
There was going to be a lot of work involved! Also, just to add an exciting
challenge into the mix, my budget was zero.

Fortunately,
my local where I have also worked, The Rose & Crown, South Ealing, were
kind enough to let me have a nice, intimate space at the pub which I could use
for the event for free. This really worked for me as it’s a cosy and vibrant
venue which also, conveniently, sells drinks!

Having
contacted Naomi, I was delighted that she was interested in being guest
novelist and, thanks to the joys of internet, I could advertise freely. A quick
plug for some marvellous people who helped me out -a very talented graphic
illustrator John McKeever (jgm.carbonmade.com) designed the e-flyer and Ben
Galpin of Malvolio Media(www.malvoliomedia.com) is an excellent photographer who was on board for taking the
pictures.

Finally
(drum roll...) the evening arrived.

The
four unpublished authors were Maria Hummer, Orlando Brooke, Joyce Greenaway and
myself. The twenty guests that night included screenwriters and playwrights as
well as prose fiction writers, a member of The Poetry Society, a director of an
independent film company, and an award winning comedy duo. In terms of getting
critiqued, it was a bit scary switching hats from hosting to reading my work
which I’d never read to anyone before, let alone to a room of twenty people.
However, despite being a little overwhelming, it was also incredibly liberating
and useful. Reading your work to an audience gives you the ability to
experience it as other people would in a way you simply can’t when you’re
writing alone in your room. The audience gave some thoughtful and constructive
feedback and I could finally ask some questions which had been burning away
whilst I was writing it; most usefully the experience helped me to make a
decision on which time period to set the novel in. As well as being heartening
to hear, it was also helpful and motivational to know the positives in my work,
giving me an overall stronger idea of what works and what doesn’t. It also
struck me that it’s very rare you get the chance to have such detailed and
informative critique for free.

So,
what’s next? Well, I’ll be hosting the first Books Talk Back event in Norwich
in January and I’m thrilled to have Words And Women involved. It’s really great
to have the support of an organisation which provides such wonderful
opportunities for women writers in the east of England.

I’m
delighted to announce that Hayley Long will be guest novelist. The Norwich
event will have a focus on teen fiction and Hayley will be answering some
questions about her creative process in writing ‘What’s Up With Jody Barton?’
as well as advice she may have for aspiring authors. Hayley gave some really
insightful and interesting tips for writers of teen fiction at the last Words
And Women event; I’m looking forward to hearing what she has to say!

Books
Talk Back will be on Sunday 19th January 2014 2-5pm at The Playroom,
which is a lovely, intimate room at Norwich Playhouse.

Thursday, 14 November 2013

Two items of interest:Lucy Kirkwood has won the inaugural Berwin Lee Playwrights Award for UK playwrights. For more information click here and here.And Philip Hensher in his recent review of 'Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life by Hermoine Lee' suggests the careers of women novelists follow "a more complex path" than the careers of male novelists. Click here for the full review.

Monday, 4 November 2013

Words And Women are enormously pleased to announce that we've received a generous Arts Project Fund grant from Norfolk County Council. The grant is to help us realise our OF ONE'S OWN project which we launched recently and which aims to create a short film for International Women's Day next year.There's information about this project on the Film page of this blog but briefly the film will explore where women in this region write today and also how they write, and we hope to show this film in as many independent cinema outlets as we can on the 8th March.It's an ambitious project and the grant is a great validation of it . The project can't succeed however without the input of all women writers over the age of 16 from the East of England. We need you to contribute. Again see our film page for more details or go to our special project blog Of One's Own at http://wordsandwomenwritingrooms.blogspot.co.uk/

Saturday, 26 October 2013

Cambridge is home to a new feminist
magazine called Ladybeard which has featured on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. Leigh Chambers is a Words And Women
member who lives, works and writes in Cambridge, and herself was the founder of
a feminist magazine called Aurora which she launched in 1986. This magazine was specifically for women
writers and discovered a few greats along the way. She reveals the whole
bitter-sweet experience in the fascinating account below:

It’s something of a consolation to know that I was one of the
first people to publish Carol Ann Duffy. And Janice Galloway. And Jill Dawson.It was 1986 and I had dutifully signed up to the
Enterprise Allowance Scheme, making merry with my £40 a week, and started my
own business. Margaret Thatcher – had I cared what she thought about me, which
I most certainly didn’t - would have been proud. I was being a good girl, after
all. Or perhaps not. For my business wasn’t hairdressing or photography. It
wasn’t secretarial services or catering. It was publishing. And feminist
publishing at that.

The story I told the newspapers when
they featured me as a bright young thing, was that standing in the newsagents
one day I had noticed there was a dearth of magazines containing creative
writing by women and so I’d decided to set one up myself. It wasn’t that far from the truth,
actually, although my interest in women’s literature and writing went back much
further than that. I’d studied it, I’d written myself and I was a woman, for
God’s sake. In 1986.Sorry to keep banging on about the
year but for those not around at that time, it’s hard to explain what a
political cauldron it was then. Margaret Thatcher was in power. The scars of
the miner’s strike had yet to heal. Wapping. Westland. The GLC. You get the
picture. For people of a certain age those words can still make the hairs on
the back of their neck rise. But the most important thing to realise was that
with such a strong ideological Tory government (‘the lady’s not for turning,’
remember that?), the sub-culture – if that’s what you want to call it – was
under attack. But, by God, it was fighting back. In some ways, it’s never been
stronger. Whatever you were – working class, gay, female, pacifist, communist
– there was an organisation for
you. And the idea that we don’t need to fight for those things now, that these
times are ‘post-feminist’ is ridiculous. You only have to have half an eye on
what’s happening to women and minorities to know that.But I digress. Let’s return to those
heady, feisty days of the eighties when you wore a white poppy on Remembrance
Day and a UB40 t-shirt every other day.So yes, I’d signed up to be my own
boss and by doing so had triggered a whole raft of organisations to descend
upon me with business training, offers of funding, mentoring etc etc.Some were a joy to work with. The
Prince’s Trust, still a great organisation, understood immediately what the
point of the magazine was, helped me draw up a business plan and offered
financial support.It was not so easy with the others.
Most were run by middle-aged men in suits who frankly didn’t know anything
about publishing, less about feminism and sweet FA about creative writing. It
wasn’t their fault but neither was it much help. Made worse when my business
plan and financial forecasts didn’t fit into the usual groove.Nevertheless we ploughed on. By now
it was a ‘we’, thanks to my wonderful friend, Louise Stewart. Together we
determined to make our magazine, Aurora, a reality.It’s all a bit hazy but I’m sure it
took at least a year to get Aurora off the ground. There was no shortage of
publicity, both local (I was in Liverpool at the time and the Merseyside media
were generous in their coverage) and national (Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, no
less). Contributions of writing flooded in. Our little PO Box was overflowing
with literary goodies. And we had subscribers too. Not masses of them but enough
to know that we had indeed found a gap in the market. Yes, there was Virago,
and yes, there was the Womens’ Press. Both brilliant. But what we were offering
was something more easily digestible than a book or novel, a magazine full of
short stories, poetry, interviews with women writers. Edited by women (myself
and Louise), designed by women (well, that never happened but we did try) and
with illustrations by women (no problem there, we had illustrators, brilliant
illustrators, queuing up).And what we produced wasn’t half bad.
The first issue had contributions from Anne Born, Jill Dawson, Janice Galloway
and Carol Ann Duffy and we launched it with the help of chain-smoking genius
Beryl Bainbridge, Heidi Thomas (now a BBC screenwriter famous for Call The Midwife
among others) and Liverpool poet, Gladys Mary Coles.So, I hear you say, with all that
clout, why wasn’t it a success? Why, you might ask, aren’t I reading it now?
Good questions. Answered in one word: Distribution. Or, two, if you’ll allow:
lousy distribution. Or three: bloody dreadful distribution. Am I making myself
clear?There’s no other way of saying it but
the distributors of Aurora just couldn’t be arsed. They had massive circulation
periodicals on their books and we were small fry to them. A large proportion of
the magazines we sent them – the magazines we’d slaved to put together, to
raise money for etc - never even left their warehouse, let alone made it to the
hallowed shelves of WH Smith. In fact, when we folded, which we sadly did because
of non-existent cash flow due to poor distribution, the distributor even had
the cheek to ask us to come and collect the piles of Auroras festering in the
warehouse. What’s the point of having great publicity if you can’t buy the
product?It wouldn’t matter these days of
course. You could download it, order it online, print it out and wear it as a
hat. But in those deep and dark days of Duran Duran and Derek Hatton (1986
remember?), it was WH Smith or broke. And we were the latter. Literally.Creditors did indeed turn up on my
doorstep, though they were sent away with a flea in their ear by my debt
counsellor. But even he couldn’t wipe out what I owed. I paid it off at a
measly amount a week, finally clearing it in my early thirties. Living with
debt is miserable and demoralising. I could write a whole other blog about that
but it would be even more depressing.Am I proud of Aurora? Apart from the
odd typo, yes.Would I do it again? Not in the
1980s, but today, yes, yes, yes. There’s still so much to say about womens’
writing, so much to admire and so very many brilliant women writers out there
desperate to be published. Mslexia has beaten me to it but maybe, just perhaps
maybe, Aurora helped pave the way. And for that – and for being one of the
first to publish Carol Ann Duffy in 1986, did I mention that? – I am very
proud.I called the magazine ‘Aurora’ after
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s groundbreaking novel/poem ‘Aurora Leigh’. But
Aurora also means dawn or dawning. And yes, I think it was.

Leigh Chambers studied English Language
and Literature at Liverpool University. After the demise of Aurora she
moved to London to study journalism at City University before
working as a freelance journalist for several years. She then worked as a
communications manager in the voluntary sector. In 2010 she received an
MA in Creative Writing at Anglia Ruskin University, and currently
coordinates a writing group (www.angleswriting.com),
presents a fortnightly show on books and writing on Cambridge 105FM (www.cambridge105.fm/shows/book-night)
and works as a humanist celebrant, conducting
non-religious baby namings and weddings.

Friday, 25 October 2013

As promised, here is
more of Sarah Poulton’s advice for budding journalists. On Wednesday we gave
Sarah’s dos and today we give you her don'ts.

Sarah has worked for
mainstream magazine publishers such as IPC Media, National Magazine Co and BBC
Magazines and, most recently, the Telegraph, where she was deputy editor of Special Reports.

Don't underestimate the importance of structure. It will help to make your piece
clear and readable. That said, don't be afraid of experimenting. There are many
ways to structure a feature and if everything is chronological it gets boring.

Don't complicate unnecessarily. Make sure your piece has an
introduction that hooks the reader and keep your language simple, active and specific.
Let paragraphs suggest each other, link them unobtrusively and include an
ending.

Don't assume your editor knows what she wants. If you are commissioned to
write a piece, try to get the editor to spell out what s/he has in mind and
make suggestions if you think it would strengthen the feature. Once you've
submitted it, be prepared to re-write or add to your copy at no extra cost.

Don't badger an editorif you submit ideas and they
don't get back to you.
Wait at least a week then email or call to remind them about your submission
and that you exist. Sometimes, editors commission the first appropriate person
whose name pops into their head.

Don't wait until you've submitted a feature to inform
your commissioning editor why it doesn't work. Get in touch as soon as you
identify a problem. Your editor WON'T thank you if she has to publish something
there wasn't time to replace.

Don't expect to earn a lot, particularly when you're
starting out.
Even once you've become an established contributor word rates may be slashed.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't stand up for yourself if you genuinely feel
you're worth more than is being offered. Just be aware: you may lose the
goodwill of your editor and scupper your chances of working for that
publication again.

Don't assume journalism is just for the young. Freelance contributors come in
all shapes and sizes. And life experience is invaluable if you're a writer.

Don't be precious. You can't afford to be. If a new editor offers
you the chance to write for her but it's an advertorial rather than a
full-fledged editorial feature, see it as an opportunity. She may be testing
you out. And look on the bright side, advertorials tend to be better paid than
your average feature for the work involved.

Wednesday, 23 October 2013

Journalist Sarah
Poulton, who spoke at Words And Women’s first membership event, has kindly
provided us with a copy of her short talk about the Dos and Don’ts of
Journalism.

It’s great advice
stemming from her experience of working on the inside as an editor and on the
outside as a freelance writer for print and online publications. Today we post
her To Dos and on Saturday we will post her Don’ts. Thanks Sarah!

Dos

Do
your research.
It sounds obvious but before you pitch anything to anyone read recent back
issues of the publication you're interested in writing for CLOSELY. What are
the gaps? Who is your audience? And remember, two or three well-thought out
ideas is generally better than a fistful of suggestions you haven't had time to
research.

Do
think laterally. For
example, if you're interested in health, why not look at the latest research
that's being published in relatively obscure US, Canadian, Australian and New
Zealand science and social science journals. Is there anything that could be
adapted to the UK?

Do
try to entice.
Editors are extremely busy and they can receive tens if not hundreds of emails
daily. Many of those may be urgent, yours won't. So think about how you might
excite their curiosity.

Do
attach samples of your previous work. It will annoy an editor if she takes the time to read
through your ideas and you haven't attached any published examples of your
work.

Do
assume there are differences between writing for print and online publications. The latter tend to have shorter
features, an emphasis on keywords and less scope for figurative language. Ask
for guidance if you need it.

Do
make an effort to understand the culture of the publication, or organisation,
for which you would like to work. The BBC isn't the same as The Daily Mail, nor is Marie
Claire the same as Boots Parenting Club. All will have their unspoken rules,
accepted office behaviour and established editorial lines. And it's wise to be
familiar with the latter, at least.

Do
get as much professional exposureonline and face to face, as you can. Use Facebook,
Linked In, Twitter, your own blog, Wannebehacks.co.uk, press events, whatever
works for you. Even if you're guest blogging for free or submitting unpaid-for
features to relatively obscure online or print publications. You never know
when one of these will bear fruit. However, do be aware that a vapid blog or
inane Facebook commentary isn't a recommendation to use you.

Do
take time to developa special interest or area of knowledge. Whether you've studied economics, or have an
interest in ecology, a specialism could come in handy.

Sunday, 20 October 2013

Here's a short introduction to the event by Sarah Passingham, followed by Stars In My Eyes, a review by another Sarah - Sarah Tanburn. Many thanks to both!

Sarah P:
Months ago, Words And Women asked me if I could give a hand with the inaugural members’ event, signing up new members as they came through the door. I was promised cake! I always say yes to cake, but I really didn't need the bribe as I’d have jumped at the chance to help at another event, after the success of the fantastic readings and films in the Forum earlier this year.
A good number of writers had signed up before Saturday, and it was great to see a small crowd of women and curious onlookers waiting for us to open the doors. With free refreshments on the bill, a buzz started immediately. And, looking around, it was clear that this first event had attracted a real patchwork of writers: some beginners, others aspiring and emerging (a description I particularly favour), to the more advanced, published writers. By the time it all kicked off - as so eloquently described by Sarah T below - about 30 members had gathered, mostly from the Norwich area, but one keen member having travelled all the way from Cambridge.
Another first for me, was the venue itself. The Appleyard in Exchange Street, had given over their whole space to Words and Women, with a bright, airy upstairs room just perfect for some very informative and enjoyable talks; I hope we meet there again. And, of course, the cake (homemade by The Appleyard boys) was absolutely delicious!Sarah T:Me:writer new to Norwich, looking for
congenial groups and opportunities to learn.

Words and Women Norwich:supports and promotes women writers living and
working in the Eastof
England today.

How excellent is
that?I joined up and reserved Sunday afternoon
in my unpacking schedule to go to the first members’ event, held just up the
road from home.

I have been to a lot of
writers’ groups and events both online and in real life.They tend to have similar structures
and too often you hear the same advice again and again. The joy of Sunday’s
event was seeing a whole new level in breadth and professionalism.Lynne and Bel, the hard-working
organisers, had created a varied line-up from five different writing worlds and
straightforwardly asked these speakers to give us some ‘dos and dont’s’.No
readings or sales pitches (though books were available if you chose to
buy).

Trezza Azzopardi
is a novelist writing literary fiction, Jean Hogg a
writer-director making films, Hayley Long a
successful writer of books for young adults, Sarah Poulton
an experienced journalist and Heidi Williamson
an award-winning poet. Lynne Bryan
chaired the contributions and questions really well too.

There was loads of good advice on offer. Jean made the fascinating
comment that she likes to write the scene and add the dialogue later. This
insight from the world of screen writing seemed so strange to me, a prose
writer, I asked her to say a little more.She explained that for her the heart of the story is in behavior, what
the character does, not what the character says. The character should be
speaking to convey something that cannot be shown through the lens, which maybe
the tension between her words and actions. What a wonderful nugget to take
away, far beyond the cliché of ‘showing not telling’.

All the speakers encouraged us to be honest in our writing, not to be
restricted by genre or marketing speak. Several women asked about this, as the
common advice is to be aware of the market and show agents or publishers that
you know where your work will sit on the shelves.Trezza emphasised that this is not to suggest you shouldn’t
research agents and make sure you approach people who are interested in your
sort of writing. (There is no point in me approaching someone who specialises
in romance writing, for instance.) Heidi summed it up by telling us to ‘throw
everything you’ve got into everything you write.’

Sarah also talked about research in the very different context of
journalism, both of the market for your work and the topic you want to cover.
Look at previous editions, she told us, and submit two or three well-thought
out ideas rather than ten half-baked proposals. Think laterally and find those
offbeat approaches that will be relevant to the readers of that
publication.Remember the
differences between writing for the page and online:writing on the screen needs a stronger emphasis on keywords,
shorter pieces and shorter sentences and less figurative prose.

One group-member asked about the value of having specific space for
women writers, and whether the speakers thought of themselves as ‘women
writers’ or writers who happen to be women. Unsurprisingly most of the speakers
described themselves as the second, but also pointed to the rarity of women in
certain arenas, for example Heidi’s fascination with science. (She spent two
years as writer-in-residence at the Science Museum.What a great gig.) They also reflected on the way women
writers are written about, citing the cattiness aimed at Hilary Mantel. (This
week’s extraordinary coverage of Eleanor
Catton’s Man Booker win confirms the tendency.) For me, I want the airspace
with women committed to honing their craft and finding an audience. I go to
plenty of mixed groups, but it was a joy to be in a room with women writers taking
themselves and each other seriously.

In two weeks I am going to Heidi’s workshop on winning writing
residencies, so that’s another benefit. I really enjoyed the afternoon, a fine
introduction to other women writers in the city.See you at the next one.

Wednesday, 16 October 2013

Hayley was a speaker at our first membership event
which took place in Norwich last Sunday and she has kindly given us the notes
from her short talk about the Dos and Don’ts of writing for teenagers. So here
is some wonderful advice from the author of the Lottie Biggs novels and What’s
Up With Jody Barton.

‘If you're writing for children or teenagers-

1. Do be prepared to write to a very tight specification.

Children / teens / big publishers want more of the
same. You'll find that big publishers may even demand it. So it can
feel as though you're writing through the eye of a needle. But,
unfortunately, writing exactly what you want and being published don't always
go hand in hand!

A one-off novel may become a series because that's
what your publisher wants.

Having said that: Don't underestimate how tricky this
can be. Phrases like 'formulaic' and 'churning stuff out' suggest there is a
magic easy formula for making money. If there is, more people would be
'churning' these books out, surely? As I said, you can follow a formula
to write a pop song but it doesn't mean you'll have a good song at the end of
it. Or you'll be able to keep on doing it.

Writing 'formulaic' fiction is as much of a challenge
as anything else. I think.

2. Do be prepared to receive very direct feedback
from your readers.

This is an internet age and many teens have about 850
'friends' on Facebook. They will see you as just another one of them and they
will hunt you out and send you a direct email giving you very frank opinions
about your books. This can be lovely! Young people are very
generous with phrases like 'favourite writer' and 'best book I've ever read.'
However, it can also be... NOT lovely ;-)

Teens will also discuss your book at length on blog
sites. Don't be tempted to get involved and NEVER defend your book on the
internet. Just stay quiet and stay away.

3. Don't be shy!

If you write for children or teens, you will be
expected to go into schools. This may involve a workshop with four gifted
pupils or it may involve talking to 400 in a hall. You just have to get
on with it. But you'll learn quickly and you'll know if you're boring
because your audience will look at their phones / start putting mascara on /
stick their hand up and tell you. On the other hand, you'll know if they
love you because they'll buy EVERY book you've ever written / ask you to sign
their arm / slap their own thighs because they're laughing so hard at what
you're reading. This is nice.

One last thing I'll add is that the world of kids' /
teen fiction is a very friendly one. The writers I've met have all been very
down to earth, supportive of each other and lovely. You end up seeing the
same faces at different events throughout the year. It's a nice crowd to
be a part of.’

Monday, 14 October 2013

The Dos and Don'ts of Writing:
Speakers from left to right - Jean Hogg, Heidi Williamson, Sarah Poulton, Hayley Long, Trezza Azzopardi.

Many thanks
to our special guests – Trezza Azzopardi, Jean Hogg, Hayley Long, Sarah Poulton and Heidi
Williamson – for giving great advice on the Dos and Don’ts of writing at our
first membership meeting on Sunday. Many thanks too for everybody who turned up
to share the experience despite the rain.

Over the next couple of weeks we will post some of our speakers’
advice on this blog for those of you who weren’t able to make the event.

Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Heidi read at
our International Women’s Day event this year and has kindly agreed to speak
about the dos and don’ts of writing poetry at our first members’ event which is
due to take place in just over a week’s time!

Heidi is currently poet-in-residence at the
John Jarrold Printing Museum in Norwich. Her first collection,‘Electric Shadow’ (Bloodaxe Books,
2011), was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and was shortlisted for the
2012 Seamus Heaney Centre Prize for Poetry.

If
you’d like to hear Heidi and our other guests then join Words And Women and come
along to our event at Appleyard & Co, Norwich, October 13th,
2-4pm. See our membership page for further details.

Friday, 27 September 2013

Trezza
Azzopardi will be speaking at our first members’ event! She joins our wonderful panel of writers talking about the Dos and Don’ts of their professions.

Trezza has
written four novels: her first, The Hiding Place, won the 2001 Geoffrey Faber
Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize; Remember Me (2004) and
Winterton Blue, (2007) were both listed for the Wales Book of the Year, and her
latest novel, The Song House, has been serialized on BBC Radio 4. Her novella
The Tip of My Tongue, based on one of the tales from The Mabinogion, will be
published next month.

If
you’d like to hear what Trezza has to say then
join Words And Women, and come to our event at Appleyard & Co,
Norwich, October 13th, 2-4pm. See our membership page for further details. Don’t miss out!

Monday, 23 September 2013

There was a great Reunion programme on BBC Radio4 last Sunday when Sue MacGregor brought together five of the women who created Spare Rib. Among them were editors Marsha Rowe and Rosie Boycott, and Anna Raeburn who wrote the advice column. Did you know that in the 1970s when Spare Rib was
launched a woman still needed her husband or father's
permission to get a mortgage, women were barred from visiting Wimpy bars after
midnight (on the assumption they must be prostitutes) and at the BBC female
employees were strongly discouraged from wearing trousers?Click here for the podcast.There have been plans to
relaunch Spare Rib and it seems there’s a chance that 90’s Scottish feminist
magazine Harpies & Quines could resurface too. Click here for further
details.

Lynne, who organizes Words &
Women, was one of the founding Directors of Harpies & Quines and has been
interviewed by The Glasgow Women’s Library about her work on the magazine. The
Glasgow Women’s Library is a wonderful resource – is there anything like it in
the East of England? - and has back-copies of Spare Rib and Harpies. For a link to the library, click here.

Finally Words And Women would
like to congratulate the five women writers who are on the shortlist for the BBC
National Short Story Award 2013. These are Lisa Bower, Lavina Greenlaw
who is Professor of Poetry at UEA in Norwich, Sarah Hall who lives in Norwich,
Lionel Shriver and Lucy Wood. Their stories are currently being broadcast daily
on BBC Radio 4 at 3.30pm. Click here for more info.

Thursday, 19 September 2013

Then come to our first membership event because one of
our guest speakers will be Hayley Long, author of the Lottie Biggs' novels and
What’s Up With Jody Barton?

Hayley has won awards for her
writing, has been shortlisted for a Costa Book Award, and appears at literary
festivals up and down the UK. She will be talking about the Dos
and Don’ts of her profession to our members at Appleyard & Co, Norwich, on
the 13th October.

If you’d like to hear Hayley then join Words And
Women! Annual membership costs £10 and more details and information on how to
join can be found on our membership page.

Thursday, 12 September 2013

Our first membership event will take place on the 13th
October in Appleyard & Co, Norwich. This will be a Sunday afternoon treat of
tea and cakes with some short talks by regional writers on the Dos and Don’ts
of their profession.

We’re very pleased to say that Sarah Poulton will be
giving one of the talks. Sarah lives in Norwich and is a freelance writer and
editor with more than 20 years experience of working for mainstream magazines, newspapers and web
publications. Past employers include IPC Media, BBC Worldwide, Redwood and,
most recently, the Telegraph, where she was deputy editor for Special Reports.

If you’d like to hear Sarah’s talk, as well as eat cake, then join Words And Women! Annual membership costs £10 and more details and
information on how to join can be found on our membership page.

Saturday, 24 August 2013

Women writers and readers are continuing to join Words
And Women as members which is great news for us. One of our newest members is
Sarah Bower whose short story Moon And Henry will be broadcast on Radio 4 in
the Tales From The East series, in the week beginning the 1st of
September. The reader is Norwich actor Poppy Miller.

Sarah’s novels – The Needle In The Blood and Sins Of
The House Of Borgia – have been translated into 9 languages. Her third novel –
Erosion – will be published in 2014, when she will also become writer-in-residence
at Lingnan University in Hong Kong.

Sarah currently lives in North Suffolk.

If you would like to become a member of Words And
Women then see our membership page for more details. Annual membership costs
£10 and our first event will take place in Norwich in October when we’ll be
offering a Sunday afternoon treat of tea and cakes and five short talks by some
very special guests.

Friday, 16 August 2013

Many women writers and readers in this region are
joining Words And Women as members which is great news. One of the exciting
results of this is that we’re learning a lot about new publications and
up-and-coming literary events.

Andrea Hollandhad just joined us as a member. She’s a poet, author and
creative-writing tutor based in Norwich, and tells us that her new
collection Broadcasting , published by Gatehouse Press, will be reviewed in the
EDP this Saturday 17/08/13.

Broadcasting is the result
of the Norfolk Commission Award for poetry which Andrea won in
2012. The book focusses on the 1942 requisition of several Norfolk villages
for D-Day training, and should interest readers of poetry but also anyone
interested in East Anglian or regional history. Copies of the book are available from Gatehouse Press.

Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Here's an update on the achievements of some of the
women who took part in our March celebrations.

Emily Cole:

Emily’s work was shown in
our drawing exhibition in The Forum Atrium, and we’ve just heard that
she’s wonthe 2013 Holt Festival
Art Prize for her painting Drifter. Read about her success here.

Clare Jarrett, a Words And
Women regular, was shortlisted for the prize too.

Eleanor Wasserberg:

Eleanor Wasserberg, who read
an extract from her novel Foxlowe at our Fusion event , recently gave a
workshop at The Fly Festival Of Literature For Young People held at UEA in
July. Click here for an enthusiastic review of Eleanor’s ‘Creating Characters’
workshop.

Anna Mudeka:

The wonderful Anna, who's
performed at every Words & Women event to date, is a finalist for The Most Influential
Woman In Business And Government In Africa Awards. Click here for a review of The
Southburgh Festival Of World Music which took place last weekend and which Anna
organises.